BMW dealer says card payments on their way out

MX5huggy

I expect the dealer will be getting one of these.

great technology but my latest card doesn’t have the numbers on it, don’t know how that will work. 

diystarter7

CliveOfIndia said:

diystarter7 said:

Herzlos said:

I believe a lot of car dealers are pushing people towards bank transfers, which would mean they don't need to take cards which charge fees.

Of course, no-one is going to be paying for a set of mats or a service with a bank transfer, so the service department would still have a card machine.

AFAIK, debit cards dont attract fees.

A retailer is charged a fee for accepting debt card payments, but it's a lot less than a credit card.  And debit cards usually charge a flat fee of x pence per transaction, whereas credit cards charge a percentage of the transaction amount (hence why car dealerships will very often accept large payments by debit card but not credit card).

Hi
Thnaks
I'm a bit surprised that Mercedes accepted our debit card for the remainder of the monies (tens of thousands) as i could have arranged online - but I guess it was part of the deal I set up. Until today, I thought only cc attracted a fee

Many thanks my dear friend

diystarter7

Grey_Critic said:

Well it came from BMW - the cars that have indicators as an optional extra so what do you expect.

Any business hates to have to pay money out and Credit/Debit cards transactions probably add up to a tidy sum over the year but then people paying in cash (or by cheque) are a pain. Somebody has to take it to the bank and with branches closing  that is another expense paying it in.

Strange as it may seem people actually use cash and cheques so the dealership may have a problem, people can go buy elsewhere and will.

Hiya

Re cash, I think most, well the Mercedes dealer I use dont accept cash, unless possibly for a a few parts under a certain amount

Thnaks

CliveOfIndia

diystarter7 said:

CliveOfIndia said:

diystarter7 said:

Herzlos said:

I believe a lot of car dealers are pushing people towards bank transfers, which would mean they don't need to take cards which charge fees.

Of course, no-one is going to be paying for a set of mats or a service with a bank transfer, so the service department would still have a card machine.

AFAIK, debit cards dont attract fees.

A retailer is charged a fee for accepting debt card payments, but it's a lot less than a credit card.  And debit cards usually charge a flat fee of x pence per transaction, whereas credit cards charge a percentage of the transaction amount (hence why car dealerships will very often accept large payments by debit card but not credit card).

Hi
Thnaks
I'm a bit surprised that Mercedes accepted our debit card for the remainder of the monies (tens of thousands) as i could have arranged online - but I guess it was part of the deal I set up. Until today, I thought only cc attracted a fee

Many thanks my dear friend

You're welcome

Although a debit card (at least one from a "traditional" bank) will charge a fee to the retailer, that fee is tiny - typically a few pennies or tens of pennies, and it's a flat rate irrespective of the value of the transaction.  So it's really no skin off their nose to accept a payment of several hundreds or thousands of pounds by debit card.  Plus it's secure and convenient (although of course the same could be said for a bank transfer).

diystarter7 said:

Grey_Critic said:

Well it came from BMW - the cars that have indicators as an optional extra so what do you expect.

Any business hates to have to pay money out and Credit/Debit cards transactions probably add up to a tidy sum over the year but then people paying in cash (or by cheque) are a pain. Somebody has to take it to the bank and with branches closing  that is another expense paying it in.

Strange as it may seem people actually use cash and cheques so the dealership may have a problem, people can go buy elsewhere and will.

Hiya

Re cash, I think most, well the Mercedes dealer I use dont accept cash, unless possibly for a a few parts under a certain amount

Thnaks

This is quite common - cash (especially in large amounts) actually brings quite a few headaches to a business.  There's a risk to storing it on the premises (think robbery).  Their insurance cover may have a limit on how much cash they're allowed to keep on site.  They've got to pay someone to either collect the cash, or else a staff member has to physically take it to the bank (cost plus risk).  And the majority of business accounts will charge you for depositing cash.

The problems are arguably less pronounced for a small corner shop that's holding a relatively small amount of cash, but for high-value transactions such as a car, cash really is more trouble than it's worth.

Even a large supermarket - why do they offer to give you cash-back when you pay by debit card?  Well, of course, it's good customer service, and they want happy customers.  But actually, if they can get rid of their cash it saves them a lot of the expenses mentioned above.

motorguy

Goldenyears said:

I was waiting to pay for a service at franchised dealer and advisor apologised for delay.  Of their three card machines one was out of action and wouldn't be replaced.  She said they may be phased out in future and only payment by smartphone was going to be possible. In our house we don't bank online, (although we do use express banking machine at local branch) so found this news a bit of a nuisance, if it happens.

So not so much "BMW Dealer says..." but some service advisor?

Personally i wouldnt be taking banking services guidance from a car dealers service advisor.

Brie

smart phone/watch apps are great until there's no wifi.  I was behind someone doing their weekly shop but couldn't pay for it as the very large Tescos doesn't have any internet service.  Annoying if you have anything on your phone like vouchers too as they are completely unavailable to use. 

MX5huggy

Brie said:

smart phone/watch apps are great until there's no wifi.  I was behind someone doing their weekly shop but couldn't pay for it as the very large Tescos doesn't have any internet service.  Annoying if you have anything on your phone like vouchers too as they are completely unavailable to use. 

A watch or phone does not need a connection to Wi-Fi or 4/5G to make a payment. Just like a card it’s just a chip that is read by the card reader. 

The problem of no connection is if like me they have no money in their current account and at the till are trying to move money from savings to current account. Because I want to maximise savings.

Grey_Critic

No matter what people may think it is legal but refusal *could* create problems if someone claimed it was discriminatory - might be worth looking at this/

https://petition.parliament.uk/petitions/605030

Herzlos

CliveOfIndia said:

diystarter7 said:

CliveOfIndia said:

diystarter7 said:

Herzlos said:

I believe a lot of car dealers are pushing people towards bank transfers, which would mean they don't need to take cards which charge fees.

Of course, no-one is going to be paying for a set of mats or a service with a bank transfer, so the service department would still have a card machine.

AFAIK, debit cards dont attract fees.

A retailer is charged a fee for accepting debt card payments, but it's a lot less than a credit card.  And debit cards usually charge a flat fee of x pence per transaction, whereas credit cards charge a percentage of the transaction amount (hence why car dealerships will very often accept large payments by debit card but not credit card).

Hi
Thnaks
I'm a bit surprised that Mercedes accepted our debit card for the remainder of the monies (tens of thousands) as i could have arranged online - but I guess it was part of the deal I set up. Until today, I thought only cc attracted a fee

Many thanks my dear friend

You're welcome

Although a debit card (at least one from a "traditional" bank) will charge a fee to the retailer, that fee is tiny - typically a few pennies or tens of pennies, and it's a flat rate irrespective of the value of the transaction.  So it's really no skin off their nose to accept a payment of several hundreds or thousands of pounds by debit card.  Plus it's secure and convenient (although of course the same could be said for a bank transfer).

diystarter7 said:

Grey_Critic said:

Well it came from BMW - the cars that have indicators as an optional extra so what do you expect.

Any business hates to have to pay money out and Credit/Debit cards transactions probably add up to a tidy sum over the year but then people paying in cash (or by cheque) are a pain. Somebody has to take it to the bank and with branches closing  that is another expense paying it in.

Strange as it may seem people actually use cash and cheques so the dealership may have a problem, people can go buy elsewhere and will.

Hiya

Re cash, I think most, well the Mercedes dealer I use dont accept cash, unless possibly for a a few parts under a certain amount

Thnaks

This is quite common - cash (especially in large amounts) actually brings quite a few headaches to a business.  There's a risk to storing it on the premises (think robbery).  Their insurance cover may have a limit on how much cash they're allowed to keep on site.  They've got to pay someone to either collect the cash, or else a staff member has to physically take it to the bank (cost plus risk).  And the majority of business accounts will charge you for depositing cash.

The problems are arguably less pronounced for a small corner shop that's holding a relatively small amount of cash, but for high-value transactions such as a car, cash really is more trouble than it's worth.

Even a large supermarket - why do they offer to give you cash-back when you pay by debit card?  Well, of course, it's good customer service, and they want happy customers.  But actually, if they can get rid of their cash it saves them a lot of the expenses mentioned above.

For anti money laundering reasons, I think car dealers are restricted to about £7k in cash. So they'll likely need to take a partial payment digitally anyway and then the cash component is just a headache.

I dare say there are plenty of smaller dealers who are either under the £7k limit or willing to take more than that, but they'll definitely be on the dodgier end of the spectrum where it's unlikely to be banked or recorded for the tax man.

motorguy

Herzlos said:

CliveOfIndia said:

diystarter7 said:

CliveOfIndia said:

diystarter7 said:

Herzlos said:

I believe a lot of car dealers are pushing people towards bank transfers, which would mean they don't need to take cards which charge fees.

Of course, no-one is going to be paying for a set of mats or a service with a bank transfer, so the service department would still have a card machine.

AFAIK, debit cards dont attract fees.

A retailer is charged a fee for accepting debt card payments, but it's a lot less than a credit card.  And debit cards usually charge a flat fee of x pence per transaction, whereas credit cards charge a percentage of the transaction amount (hence why car dealerships will very often accept large payments by debit card but not credit card).

Hi
Thnaks
I'm a bit surprised that Mercedes accepted our debit card for the remainder of the monies (tens of thousands) as i could have arranged online - but I guess it was part of the deal I set up. Until today, I thought only cc attracted a fee

Many thanks my dear friend

You're welcome

Although a debit card (at least one from a "traditional" bank) will charge a fee to the retailer, that fee is tiny - typically a few pennies or tens of pennies, and it's a flat rate irrespective of the value of the transaction.  So it's really no skin off their nose to accept a payment of several hundreds or thousands of pounds by debit card.  Plus it's secure and convenient (although of course the same could be said for a bank transfer).

diystarter7 said:

Grey_Critic said:

Well it came from BMW - the cars that have indicators as an optional extra so what do you expect.

Any business hates to have to pay money out and Credit/Debit cards transactions probably add up to a tidy sum over the year but then people paying in cash (or by cheque) are a pain. Somebody has to take it to the bank and with branches closing  that is another expense paying it in.

Strange as it may seem people actually use cash and cheques so the dealership may have a problem, people can go buy elsewhere and will.

Hiya

Re cash, I think most, well the Mercedes dealer I use dont accept cash, unless possibly for a a few parts under a certain amount

Thnaks

This is quite common - cash (especially in large amounts) actually brings quite a few headaches to a business.  There's a risk to storing it on the premises (think robbery).  Their insurance cover may have a limit on how much cash they're allowed to keep on site.  They've got to pay someone to either collect the cash, or else a staff member has to physically take it to the bank (cost plus risk).  And the majority of business accounts will charge you for depositing cash.

The problems are arguably less pronounced for a small corner shop that's holding a relatively small amount of cash, but for high-value transactions such as a car, cash really is more trouble than it's worth.

Even a large supermarket - why do they offer to give you cash-back when you pay by debit card?  Well, of course, it's good customer service, and they want happy customers.  But actually, if they can get rid of their cash it saves them a lot of the expenses mentioned above.

For anti money laundering reasons, I think car dealers are restricted to about £7k in cash. So they'll likely need to take a partial payment digitally anyway and then the cash component is just a headache.

I dare say there are plenty of smaller dealers who are either under the £7k limit or willing to take more than that, but they'll definitely be on the dodgier end of the spectrum where it's unlikely to be banked or recorded for the tax man.

i think its maybe as high as £9K, but yes its anti laundering legislation and also banks will charge them for lodging cash.

Bank transfer or debit card payment is what they'll be looking for from a "cash" buyer these days.